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Caldwell 28 - C28 - NGC 752 - Open Cluster

NGC 752 is a large spawling open cluster in the constellation of Andromeda. With an apparent magnitude of +5.7, it's visible to the naked eye from a dark site appearing as a large unresolved fuzzy patch of light. The cluster is one of the finest large open clusters in the sky and contains over 70 stars spread across a huge 1.25 degrees of apparent sky. Due to its size, NGC 752 is best observed with binoculars or through wide field telescopes at low powers.

NGC 752 is located 5 degrees south and slightly west of outstanding double star Almach (γ And - mag. +2.1) the third brightest star in the constellation. It was discovered by Caroline Herschel on September 29, 1783 although it was probably observed sometime before 1654 by Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna. Caroline's brother William Herschel subsequently added it to his catalogue a couple of years later. It's best seen from northern latitudes during the months of October, November and December.

NGC 752 is a delightful open cluster when seen through binoculars, small or wide field telescopes. Through popular 7x50 or 10x50 models it appears large and hazy with the brightest dozen stars resolvable. An 80mm (3.1-inch) scope at low powers reveals approx. 60 mainly white stars. However, even with a wide field eyepiece it doesn't take much magnification before the cluster overfills the field of view. When seen through medium size scopes such as a 150mm (6-inch) instrument, NGC 752 is a wonderful site with a myriad of stars visible, some that are colourful.

In total, NGC 752 contains about 60 stars brighter than 9th magnitude. It's located 1,300 light-years distant and has an age of 2 billion light-years.